What Does 5G Mean For Music?

5G is the next generation of mobile cellular technology. Before you ask, it is not just faster 4G (although it can be up to 20 times quicker). 5G brings with it lower latency figures and higher bandwidths – that is, more data and quicker – and it’s more about what you can do with this extra girth that counts. 5G will mean some obvious improvements – like better sound quality for your streaming music and being able to play properly in time with other musicians online – but there are some other less obvious, yet far more exciting 5G musical possibilities. From enjoying a virtual band on stage to accessing a recording studio on your phone, 5G will transform the way we make and enjoy music, and it might just save the live music industry as we know it.

SYNTH SPECIAL

It’s a super synth special in this month’s Computer Music and we have a fantastic selection of hands-on features to help you make great synth music and create some great sounds…

Beatskillz RetroVolt £99

BeatSkills deliver a sample player with synth ambitions and a plugin simply drenched in nostalgia

K Multimedia iRig Keys 2 Mini €122

IK Multimedia deliver one of their dinkiest computer music-making keyboards, and it might be just what your mobile production needs

Future classic softsynths

We have six all-time classics on p36. Here are six young pretenders from the last two years vying to steal the crown

Baby Audio Parallel Aggressor

Parallel processing is a great way to capture the flavour of heavy processing and this new plugin wants to make it easier than ever before

Softsynths… of all time!

Time to put our heads on the block as we pick the six best software synths… ever (and still available to buy)

Modulation

In this instalment of our synth series, we look at some common mod sources and how to use them to bring your patches to life

15 Questions With… SHAW & GROSSFELDT

Simian Mobile Disco’s Jas Shaw and Bas Grossfeldt make an album completely inspired by a Yamaha Dysclavier. Why not?

Electronic Beats

Last month we looked at how to make your acoustic beats more human, more realistic and less machinelike. This time, we’re going to the electronic side. Leave your humanity at the door

MIXING BEATS

Getting your electronic beats mixed well together can make or break the backbone of your tune

The Filter – pt 2

We’ve shown you what a filter does and how it does it, and now it’s time to put that knowledge to use!

PROGRAMMING SYNTH DRUMS

Once so maligned that the musicians’ unions took them to task, synthesised drums are a staple of modern music. Here's how to program your own using the Plugin Suite…

Novation Launchkey Mk3 £var

Novation’s third incarnation of the Launchkey has a lot going for it if you are a Live user (and the smallest almost offers the most)

D16 Syntorus 2

Chorus has proven to be a tricky effect to create in plugin form. Let’s see if this upgraded classic hits the spot

DUSTY KID

The Italian producer and DJ has released music on some of the most influential labels in the dance music business, and remixed everyone from Armand Van Helden to Booka Shade. And while his studio looks exceptional, he reveals here that it only came about thanks to a major gear clearout. Who needs all that vintage equipment anyway?

15 questions with…MEDUZA

The Milan-based production trio of Meduza have already conquered the world with their huge and multi-award winning hit Piece of Your Heart. Here the trio’s Mattia Vitale reveals the plugins behind the sound

Crafting a bassline

This month, Dave Clews takes you through bassline programming bassics, from both ‘real’ and synth-based approaches

15 questions with… HARRISON

The collaborator to stars including Guetta, Aoki and Hardwell has a studio packed with some of the best hardware on the planet but is now ‘95%’ in the box. Time for Harrison’s 15 answers…

The Easy Guide To Recording Drums

Inject real life into your tracks by recording a real human drummer (no jokes, please) playing actual drums! Follow our walkthroughs and you’ll see how easy and effective it can be

THE PERFECT SNARE DRUM

Now let’s get cracking and take a closer look at the kick drum’s constant companion, the snare

MIXING DRUMS

Mix a drum kit to perfection with our step-by-step guide to processing and balancing along with some top tips

LOGIC VS LIVE

When Logic Pro X 10.5 showed up to the party attired with a Live-tastic new feature list, we geared up for a faceoff!

THE PERFECT KICK DRUM

A good drum track starts with the bass drum – find out here how to make sure yours kicks ass

Arturia OB-Xa V €199

Growl… da… da… da… da-da… daa… da… da… da da daaaa’. Now you too can ecreate one of the most ‘iconic’ synth intros of all time. But please don’t

THE PERFECT HI-HATS AND CYMBALS

So you’ve got your kick and snare – now let’s add some sizzling metalwork to complete the kit

Free software PULSAR SMASHER

Engage ‘all-buttons-in’ with this issue’s free plugin from Pulsar Digital. It’s smashing. Let’s rock…

GET REAL!

You might not be a drummer, but that needn’t prevent you from programming your own totally convincing ‘live’ drum tracks. All it takes is a good set of sounds and a bit of MIDI know-how

15 questions with…THE DANDY WARHOLS

Peter Holmström is the guitarist and founding member of The Dandy Warhols. With their new record taking a few technology twists and turns, it’s time for 15 questions…

Tracktion Software Waveform Pro 11

Does 2020’s update to this resolutely ‘different’ DAW add enough to keep things moving without compromising its unique proposition?